Quentin & Hope, Tuesday morning
Oct. 24th, 2023 09:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xp_erverse posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
xp_logsHope, curious about Radha Dastoor, speaks with Quentin about her, why he finds her so fascinating, and why Haven worries her.
Collapsing on the leather loveseat in his office, Quentin pondered the feasibility of hiring a personal long-distance teleporter of his own. There must be someone else out there with mutant powers like Ferguson. As much as he was happy to rack up the airline miles, these weekly 6-hour cross-country flights were killing him.
Even though he had returned to New York late last night, he was still on PDT and needed to realign himself to EDT. Maybe a power nap would help. He was just starting to doze off when a knock at his door shook him to consciousness.
"Ugh. What? Come in." He called out, trying and failing to stifle a yawn.
"Interesting person, this Radha Dastoor." Hope launched into her spiel as soon as she stepped inside as she checked her tablet for details. "Born in Mumbai, scion of a wealthy family, one sibling and a rather well-known humanitarian until she started her current project..." She lifted her gaze to look at Quentin, raising an eyebrow at Quentin. "And if I may be so frank, she started sounding like she got into your drug supply."
"I wish I had hallucinations as deeply affective as Mahapralaya" — a word he could only say out loud mockingly, like the Spongebob meme, maHaPralaYa — "But I don't regularly indulge in psilocybin. And yes, her brother's name is Abhay. He can make it rain, has huge tits, and spoils me in my current top era."
It only took a quick glance at her tablet. "The first two are right, but I will leave the last two to your judgement." Hope pulled over a chair, settling in with the tablet on her lap. "I have had the opportunity to watch her speak on the supposed Mahapralaya. And though I cannot deny the possibility she is right after all I have seen, I cannot help but think she is not quite there in the head... I have to ask... what are your intentions with her?"
"My intentions?" Quentin raised an eyebrow. "It's her brother I'm fucking, not her. I mean, she's beautiful, obviously, I'm not blind, but still not my type." But Hope was as usual undeterred by his insouciance, so he carried on more seriously. "I think Radha is building something important for mutantkind that no one else has been able to so far. I mean to see it through with her."
So the brother was also establishing a relationship with him, not just the sister. Hope kept her face (and mind) perfectly smooth, just tilting her head a tad in curiosity. "So you do not believe in what she writes about the 'Great Dissolution'? What is it you find there for mutantkind that is so important?"
"I find the idea that we are tumbling head-first into some cosmically pre-ordained apocalypse ridiculous and laughable. But. To protect mutants from that disaster, she has built an autonomous, self-sustaining, self-policing village in which everyone contributes and shares equitably in the spoils. How can you not find that at least partly admirable?"
"It almost sounds utopian." Hope had to admit it. "But unfortunately... I think I might be too cynical to truly believe in utopia's. From what I have been reading... I am guessing it is solely for mutants?"
Quentin nodded affirmatively. "Even without the looming Mahapralaya" — and there was that jeering tone again — "Mutants need a safe haven from humans. And unless Chuckles is going to turn the mansion into a high-rise condo complex, there's nothing for mutants. Until now. It's not a utopia, it's still young and figuring out how to scale up, but Radha has the right idea. At least she's trying something new for us."
"A safe haven... completely separate from ordinary humans..." Hope tried to picture it. "I remember during my time with the Archduke... we used to talk about what it could look like... a place like the Professor's dream, though that was often quickly scorned. A town modelled after Magneto's vision... but we never really talked much about having a completely separate society. I think we saw too many issues."
This talk was bordering on Discourse, and even if it was early in the morning, Quentin needed a drink to get through that. He rose from the sofa and walked to the small bar in the corner of his office to pour himself a breakfast vodka soda. "As long as land is an issue, full isolationism isn't an option," he conceded. But that was why he was bolstering Radha's open heart, so there could never be conflicts over land or colonialism.
"In the long run, we can't totally separate ourselves from the flatscans, not unless we colonize Mars or something. Which, with the right combination of mutant powers, I bet could be done. But for now, a place for ourselves to figure out what we can do when free from the yolk of flatscan oppression, that's what Radha's offering."
Hope took a moment, carefully considering what had been said: "Discovering who mutants are separated from normal humans... I am afraid that, outside our powers, we are not all that different. We are just as prone to all foibles and stupidity in the end. But the chance to try it out, to see if it could be different. There is something attractive about that. After all, if we are just as prone to all the foibles, we also carry the potential for great things. So what have you learned so far from Radha's experiment?"
"Yes, exactly!" Quentin couldn't help himself, he actually smiled at Hope. She was listening to him, not dismissing him like everyone else. He couldn't hold back the outburst of truth to a receptive audience. "We have to try new things, experiment, instead of just talk talk talking and doing nothing. Yeah, maybe it won't work, maybe it'll be a disaster, but at least we'll have actual evidence, and if we're careful, we can predict complications early and avoid or mitigate them." He enthusiastically downed his drink and poured another, and gestured at the bottles to invite Hope to partake.
"So, what have I learned? She's basically got a small-scale collectivist anarchy, although she admittedly holds more sway than anyone is willing to admit. I don't know if it can be scaled up. I'm no Mikhail Bakunin. But I think with time, and an influx of mutants with the right combination of powers, it could be larger. Why couldn't it be a kibbutz without all the unfortunate religious and colonial undertones?"
Rising, Hope took a moment to make herself a drink as she sorted through the terms. Her political theory classes had been a while ago. "So the core idea is for all members of the community to work together and all the fruits of your labor are to be equally shared, right? How has the community been sustaining itself in regards to its basic needs so far?" She settled down with very watered down vodka soda of her own. "From what you said there are over fifty people now. That cannot be an easy challenge."
"Approaching seventy, could get to a hundred by the holidays, which I suspect it will, given their recruitment efforts and how many mutants don't have homes to go to for those." He sat back down, genteely crossing one leg over the other. "From what I've seen, they're thriving. They have a small infrastructure: solar panels for power, a well for water, a farm for growing their own food. Abhay maintains appropriate weather for them. I've seen flavors of speedsters and augments. There's a lot they'll need to do to expand, though."
"That sounds quite amazing, though a farm life would not be for me..." Hope admitted. "But I cannot help but worry. The foundation it is being built upon... that everything is so dependent on Radha Dastoor it seems awfully unstable. What if something happens to her? Or if she disagrees with the direction the community is taking?"
Quentin snorted. "Worrying about the farm life is the same thing Sue said when we went there on the Turner case. But as for what Radha's absence would do, well. Maybe you should just come with me next time and see for yourself how it operates."
"I might just take you up on that. But Quentin, simply, my concern is that if the community is built upon Radha Dastoor, in this case literally... that does not make for the strongest foundation. Scanner used to give us reading about that... saying that was the reason why we were chosen... that a strong foundation for a community could be forged."
"I think you're underestimating just how strong a foundation she did set up. It may have all stemmed from her, but she's empowered her followers to care for themselves without her direct oversight."
Hope led out a slow sigh: "I guess time will tell. Do not take me wrong, Quentin, I truly hope this will work. Maybe in the future it will turn out I have been overly cautious. I do want to ask though again... what are your intentions towards Ms. Dastoor and Haven? You mentioned the Underground, but do you want to establish further ties between XFI or even the mansion?"
Quentin looked down at the last bit of his drink swirling in his glass. "Like I said, Hope, Radha is working to secure a safe and prosperous future for mutantkind and I want to bear witness. Like you said, it can't all be on her shoulders. So who better than me to make sure she's doing it right? That's a rhetorical question, you don't have to answer that."
Collapsing on the leather loveseat in his office, Quentin pondered the feasibility of hiring a personal long-distance teleporter of his own. There must be someone else out there with mutant powers like Ferguson. As much as he was happy to rack up the airline miles, these weekly 6-hour cross-country flights were killing him.
Even though he had returned to New York late last night, he was still on PDT and needed to realign himself to EDT. Maybe a power nap would help. He was just starting to doze off when a knock at his door shook him to consciousness.
"Ugh. What? Come in." He called out, trying and failing to stifle a yawn.
"Interesting person, this Radha Dastoor." Hope launched into her spiel as soon as she stepped inside as she checked her tablet for details. "Born in Mumbai, scion of a wealthy family, one sibling and a rather well-known humanitarian until she started her current project..." She lifted her gaze to look at Quentin, raising an eyebrow at Quentin. "And if I may be so frank, she started sounding like she got into your drug supply."
"I wish I had hallucinations as deeply affective as Mahapralaya" — a word he could only say out loud mockingly, like the Spongebob meme, maHaPralaYa — "But I don't regularly indulge in psilocybin. And yes, her brother's name is Abhay. He can make it rain, has huge tits, and spoils me in my current top era."
It only took a quick glance at her tablet. "The first two are right, but I will leave the last two to your judgement." Hope pulled over a chair, settling in with the tablet on her lap. "I have had the opportunity to watch her speak on the supposed Mahapralaya. And though I cannot deny the possibility she is right after all I have seen, I cannot help but think she is not quite there in the head... I have to ask... what are your intentions with her?"
"My intentions?" Quentin raised an eyebrow. "It's her brother I'm fucking, not her. I mean, she's beautiful, obviously, I'm not blind, but still not my type." But Hope was as usual undeterred by his insouciance, so he carried on more seriously. "I think Radha is building something important for mutantkind that no one else has been able to so far. I mean to see it through with her."
So the brother was also establishing a relationship with him, not just the sister. Hope kept her face (and mind) perfectly smooth, just tilting her head a tad in curiosity. "So you do not believe in what she writes about the 'Great Dissolution'? What is it you find there for mutantkind that is so important?"
"I find the idea that we are tumbling head-first into some cosmically pre-ordained apocalypse ridiculous and laughable. But. To protect mutants from that disaster, she has built an autonomous, self-sustaining, self-policing village in which everyone contributes and shares equitably in the spoils. How can you not find that at least partly admirable?"
"It almost sounds utopian." Hope had to admit it. "But unfortunately... I think I might be too cynical to truly believe in utopia's. From what I have been reading... I am guessing it is solely for mutants?"
Quentin nodded affirmatively. "Even without the looming Mahapralaya" — and there was that jeering tone again — "Mutants need a safe haven from humans. And unless Chuckles is going to turn the mansion into a high-rise condo complex, there's nothing for mutants. Until now. It's not a utopia, it's still young and figuring out how to scale up, but Radha has the right idea. At least she's trying something new for us."
"A safe haven... completely separate from ordinary humans..." Hope tried to picture it. "I remember during my time with the Archduke... we used to talk about what it could look like... a place like the Professor's dream, though that was often quickly scorned. A town modelled after Magneto's vision... but we never really talked much about having a completely separate society. I think we saw too many issues."
This talk was bordering on Discourse, and even if it was early in the morning, Quentin needed a drink to get through that. He rose from the sofa and walked to the small bar in the corner of his office to pour himself a breakfast vodka soda. "As long as land is an issue, full isolationism isn't an option," he conceded. But that was why he was bolstering Radha's open heart, so there could never be conflicts over land or colonialism.
"In the long run, we can't totally separate ourselves from the flatscans, not unless we colonize Mars or something. Which, with the right combination of mutant powers, I bet could be done. But for now, a place for ourselves to figure out what we can do when free from the yolk of flatscan oppression, that's what Radha's offering."
Hope took a moment, carefully considering what had been said: "Discovering who mutants are separated from normal humans... I am afraid that, outside our powers, we are not all that different. We are just as prone to all foibles and stupidity in the end. But the chance to try it out, to see if it could be different. There is something attractive about that. After all, if we are just as prone to all the foibles, we also carry the potential for great things. So what have you learned so far from Radha's experiment?"
"Yes, exactly!" Quentin couldn't help himself, he actually smiled at Hope. She was listening to him, not dismissing him like everyone else. He couldn't hold back the outburst of truth to a receptive audience. "We have to try new things, experiment, instead of just talk talk talking and doing nothing. Yeah, maybe it won't work, maybe it'll be a disaster, but at least we'll have actual evidence, and if we're careful, we can predict complications early and avoid or mitigate them." He enthusiastically downed his drink and poured another, and gestured at the bottles to invite Hope to partake.
"So, what have I learned? She's basically got a small-scale collectivist anarchy, although she admittedly holds more sway than anyone is willing to admit. I don't know if it can be scaled up. I'm no Mikhail Bakunin. But I think with time, and an influx of mutants with the right combination of powers, it could be larger. Why couldn't it be a kibbutz without all the unfortunate religious and colonial undertones?"
Rising, Hope took a moment to make herself a drink as she sorted through the terms. Her political theory classes had been a while ago. "So the core idea is for all members of the community to work together and all the fruits of your labor are to be equally shared, right? How has the community been sustaining itself in regards to its basic needs so far?" She settled down with very watered down vodka soda of her own. "From what you said there are over fifty people now. That cannot be an easy challenge."
"Approaching seventy, could get to a hundred by the holidays, which I suspect it will, given their recruitment efforts and how many mutants don't have homes to go to for those." He sat back down, genteely crossing one leg over the other. "From what I've seen, they're thriving. They have a small infrastructure: solar panels for power, a well for water, a farm for growing their own food. Abhay maintains appropriate weather for them. I've seen flavors of speedsters and augments. There's a lot they'll need to do to expand, though."
"That sounds quite amazing, though a farm life would not be for me..." Hope admitted. "But I cannot help but worry. The foundation it is being built upon... that everything is so dependent on Radha Dastoor it seems awfully unstable. What if something happens to her? Or if she disagrees with the direction the community is taking?"
Quentin snorted. "Worrying about the farm life is the same thing Sue said when we went there on the Turner case. But as for what Radha's absence would do, well. Maybe you should just come with me next time and see for yourself how it operates."
"I might just take you up on that. But Quentin, simply, my concern is that if the community is built upon Radha Dastoor, in this case literally... that does not make for the strongest foundation. Scanner used to give us reading about that... saying that was the reason why we were chosen... that a strong foundation for a community could be forged."
"I think you're underestimating just how strong a foundation she did set up. It may have all stemmed from her, but she's empowered her followers to care for themselves without her direct oversight."
Hope led out a slow sigh: "I guess time will tell. Do not take me wrong, Quentin, I truly hope this will work. Maybe in the future it will turn out I have been overly cautious. I do want to ask though again... what are your intentions towards Ms. Dastoor and Haven? You mentioned the Underground, but do you want to establish further ties between XFI or even the mansion?"
Quentin looked down at the last bit of his drink swirling in his glass. "Like I said, Hope, Radha is working to secure a safe and prosperous future for mutantkind and I want to bear witness. Like you said, it can't all be on her shoulders. So who better than me to make sure she's doing it right? That's a rhetorical question, you don't have to answer that."
